Tips for Navigating Marketing Risks

Marketing has changed a lot in the last couple of years, and it’s important to plan accordingly. With the right approach, you can navigate common marketing risks and guard against them long into the future. Here’s what you should watch out for:

Cyberattacks

A cybersecurity staffing shortage has made it tough for marketers to keep up with evolving cyberattacks. Approximately 61% of information security professionals said that their companies cybersecurity teams are understaffed. 55% of respondents said their companies have unfilled cybersecurity positions, and 50% said their cybersecurity applicants are not well qualified.

There’s no telling when a cyberattack will occur, so marketers should try to plan ahead. To do so, you can use password management and other tools to boost website security. Also, it pays to develop a business continuity plan to ensure that you’re prepared to recover from cyberattacks.

Meanwhile, you can create and launch a cybersecurity awareness training program to address the staffing shortage. This program means that marketing team members and others should be able to identify and stop cyberattacks in their early stages. The program should be evaluated and updated regularly as well.

Influencer Scams

Social media influencer marketing can deliver big returns. Influencers can quickly and easily spread the word about a brand’s products and services. Yet influencer scams are on the rise.

Certain artificial intelligence-powered influencers have interest from large groups of followers. Some influencers have used bots to artificially grow their follower numbers. There have even been times where influencers use bots to buy follower likes and comments.

If you’re exploring influencer marketing for a brand, consider partnering with micro-influencers. These individuals have smaller followings than globally renowned celebrities and public figures. They also get the benefits of highly engaged audiences, which helps you shrink the risk of getting involved in an influencer scam.

In addition, try using multiple metrics to track your influencer marketing strategy. Monitor post frequency, content focus, and other key performance indicators (KPIs). As you assess KPIs, you can find your influencer marketing strategy strengths and weaknesses. From here, you can explore ways to change your strategy’s weaknesses into strengths.

Automation Issues

Marketers use automation tools to easily manage data, score leads, and perform other daily tasks. Unfortunately, a lot of challenges are in the way of marketers, making it almost impossible for them to realize the full value of automation.

When it comes to marketing automation, start slow. Figure out what you want to accomplish, and create a strategy from there. Start your strategy gradually and monitor your results. If you come across any roadblocks along the way, take a step back and fix them. On the other hand, if your strategy is successful from the get-go, build on it. Next, you can explore more ways to get your marketing automation to work for you.

Stay up to date on new marketing automation tools and technologies as well. Marketing automation remains a work in progress.

 

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Inaccurate Advertising

Your goal is probably to show off your brand in a way that clicks with your target audience. To achieve this, you may invest heavily in advertising. But, if you’re not careful, you risk misleading customers and that can do more harm than good.

Bad advertising can cripple a brand’s reputation, and can also lead to fines. For instance, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) once required Uber to pay $20 million after the ridesharing company made false claims about how much its drivers could earn.

It’s your responsibility to make sure that any advertisements your brand releases are correct. Make sure you review ads and look for any false claims. If there are any concerns or questions, revise as needed.

Marketers can benefit from holding brainstorming sessions and group workshops about advertisements. Get the feedback from multiple team members to find out if an advertisement is correct.

Poor Marketing Strategy

The ideal marketing strategy drives sales, grows a company’s brand reputation, and creates trust with their target audience. It also makes sure a company stands out from industry rivals.

Ultimately, it helps to connect a marketing strategy to a brand. You can use some tried-and-true marketing practices as you create your strategy. But the strategy should account for a business’ mission, goals, and values. It should also focus on how a company can fill a need for its target audience.

Don’t forget to track the results of a marketing strategy. Marketing data can deliver huge value, and it should be monitored day after day. Fortunately, systems can be created that let you collect data from a lot of different sources. You can then use this information to make reports, identify growth opportunities, and find ways to take advantage of them.

Employee Turnover

The “Great Resignation” is underway, and millions of people have left their jobs in pursuit of new career opportunities. Thus, many marketing professionals have recently left their jobs, and more may do so in the near future.

Employee turnover can leave a marketing department empty and in need. In order to keep your marketing strategy on track, it helps to do everything in your power to keep employees happy.

Generally, it can be a good idea to find out what marketing team members want from their jobs. You can use surveys and questionnaires to find out how marketers feel about their company and everyday work. Then, you can look at employee answers and use them to explore ways to increase employee satisfaction.

You may want to offer distinct perks to potential marketing team members. For example, you can offer employees the opportunities to work remotely. Or, you can provide them with flexible work schedules. These perks typically won’t take long to set up, and they can help your organization keep its top marketing talent.

Of course, it helps to create job descriptions that show your company in a positive light. These descriptions can provide important details about the roles, salaries, and benefits associated with them. They can give job candidates a glimpse into your company’s culture, too.

Negative Feedback

Marketers want feedback, so they can learn as much as possible. However, negative feedback that is published online can result in serious brand reputation damage in a short period of time.

Maximizing your organization’s online reputation is important. If bad reviews are left unanswered, they can overwhelm your company. If you come across negative feedback, look into it closely. You can then use it to help your company rebound. In the long run, it can lead to positive feedback that helps your company thrive.

The Bottom Line on How to Navigate Today’s Marketing Risks

Proper risk management is key for marketers at all organizations, across all industries. Planning ahead enables you to protect against these dangers before they can get out of hand.

For more help in avoiding marketing risks, and how to protect your company from the issues that may arise while setting up your marketing plan, please contact us here or by using the form below.